Whether you're an avid animal lover or an admirer of the beauty and majesty of snakes, keeping them in the same room where you eat, sleep, and relax can seem pretty intimidating. Some carry venom that can be fatal if you come into contact with them. Exposing yourself, your children, and pets to threatening snakes is not a good idea. If you're planning a vacation in the backcountry, keep in mind that you may be in snake territory. You must not try to harm snakes near you. Instead, you should try to avoid the risks by banishing them. How to keep snakes away when camping below can help you.
Snakes are attracted to the campsite
Snakes eat small rodents such as mice, squirrels, frogs, birds, salamanders and even creatures of their kind. Due to the leftovers at your campsite, these small rodents often come and attract snakes, turning everything into a big meat feast. Snakes are attracted to camping sites because this is an ideal environment for them to hunt while protecting them from the elements. Therefore, it is important to keep many rodents away from snakes when camping.
Where snakes live and hide
Snakes are introverted creatures who prefer to live apart from humans. They like to remain concealed in dark and yet warm places such as bushes, large rocks, and tree trunks.
They can find refuge under your tent at your campsite because it is warm, or even inside shoes. Exiting a lump of dirty clothing and shoes or outdoor gear outdoors can also provide a safe haven for them to spend the night. They can also hide in long grass instead of bushes, which they use to hunt and stalk prey.
How to keep snakes away while camping
Let's talk about how to keep snakes apart from your campsite now that we've learned a little bit about them and their habits.
It is not advisable for sleeping on the ground.
Snakes like to hide in the tall grass and rocks right next to the campsite. If you know this area has a lot of snakes, it's best not to sleep directly on the ground.
You should try to sleep a few meters off the ground, so hammocks are especially effective against snakes. Although snakes can simply crawl up tall trees, lying in bed on the ground reduces the chances of being bitten by a stray snake.
When going to the bathroom, always carry a flashlight with you
It's best to always carry a flashlight when you go out at night so you can clearly identify any snakes or other small animals before your feet step on them. When going to the toilet, you should avoid tall trees and bushes because snakes always want to hide in those places.
Cover your feet
Many snake bites occur on the feet or legs. When trying to walk in areas with a lot of snakes, wearing casual boots or shoes can really minimize bites to the lower body areas. Wear long shoes, preferably boots made of thick material so that cold-blooded creatures are difficult to bite through. When you leave your shoes outside, snakes and scorpions will often hide inside. Keep your shoes in the tent as much as possible. If that's not possible, tuck a sock somewhere in your shoe to keep the snake out.
Check your camp before bedtime
When returning to camp after a day out, check your tent before you enter camp and look for any snakes inside or nearby. Check that your tent is completely sealed on all sides and doesn't have any holes or tears that could allow snakes to enter. If you discover any vulnerabilities, patch them on the spot if you have the necessary patch kits.
Use sound to chase snakes
Snakes are very afraid of people and will run away if they detect you are talking or even making noise near your campsite. You can also scare them away by playing music through a portable speaker around your campsite. Increase the subwoofer and the volume is not excessive. Because snakes are aware of vibration, they will avoid approaching it. Allow your dog to run free to scare away snakes or other household pets that may be near your campsite.
Start a campfire to drive the snakes away.
Campfires can also be used to keep snakes away from your campsite. Its warmth and smoke can actually keep them away from you effectively. Since snakes are most active after sunset, setting up a fire pit around this time and keeping the fire burning late into the night will ensure that your campsite is stable. Even after you've gone to bed, carefully spread small fires around your tent so that the flames keep you awake until dawn.
Store your food in the airtight containers.
Keeping your food in an airtight container is one of the simplest methods to keep snakes away. This way, the food is not left unattended, attracting rodents and some other small animals that snakes eat. Storing your food in an airtight container also helps keep other reptiles, such as spiders, away from your campsite.
Clean up your campsite and pack leftovers. As said before, these scraps of food will attract small insects and rodents.
Select an appropriate position for your tent.
As said before, snakes prefer secluded areas and avoid contact with humans. Therefore, choose a campsite away from bushes and long grass where snakes can actually be found. Campgrounds near swamps or bodies of water develop into shelters for all these creatures as rodents are attracted to vegetation. If you must camp near a swamp, try pitching your tent on ground that dries quickly from vegetation.
Choose areas that snakes don't like.
Snakes, like every other wild animal, are unpredictable. However, they do have routines that you can use to predict their own movements. For example, they prefer certain areas and types of terrain: Directly adjacent to water, rocks and areas near rock piles, dense areas, etc.
Prevent setting up your campsite in these locations to reduce your chances of encountering an unfriendly encounter. A large space, mostly grassy fields and little vegetation is the ideal place to set up your campsite. Snakes love to hide, so if you find a sparsely populated area, you'll be less likely to encounter them.
Avoid using chemical bug spray.
You should avoid brands of snake repellents. They are often ineffective, while some of them release substances that are dangerous to humans. People can claim to guarantee your safety, but they simply don't react to odors in the same way that other animals do. Excluding the use of snake repellent, the above actions are more practical to keep snakes away when camping.
Limit your search for snakes
Remember, whether you are camping in a camp or driving your car, you are in snake territory. They won't go out there to bite you, but you have to be careful. You can only deter snakes by using these methods to keep them out of your campsite.
Conclusion
Snakes are not really dangerous creatures but if threatened or cornered, they can kill people. Most snake bites happen when people step on them, but it's best to stay calm and avoid harassing the animal, just ignore it. Staying away from snakes while camping is easier than you think. In addition to the precautions mentioned above, you can use an organic insect repellent to repel and deter rodents that they love to prey on so snakes can't get close. You will be less likely to be startled by an unexpected zigzag guest if you follow the above guidelines, hopefully you and your family have a very happy trip.
